Lot 31
  • 31

Omar El-Nagdi

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
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Description

  • Omar El-Nagdi
  • The Letter Heh
  • signed and dated Omar El. Nagdi 1960 
  • pencil and oil on celotex
  • 99 by 100cm.; 39 by 39 3/8 in.

Provenance

Collection of the Artist, Cairo
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2007

Condition

Condition: This work is in good condition. Some deep vertical scratches across the painting, inherent with the choice of medium (celotex) and the artist's creative process. Some craquelure from the centre right to the upper right corner. Some paint and wood loss across the lower edge. The work could benefit from a superficial clean. No signs of restoration under UV light. Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is accurate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

One of Egypt’s most celebrated artists, Omar El Nagdi is renowned for his calligraphic period which he initiated in the 1960s when he began studying the arts of mosaics at The Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. One of the youngest artists to be included in the ‘L’Encyclopédie Européenne des Artistes Étrangers’ at the age of 40; El Nagdi’s calligraphic artistic practice is inspired from Sufism. The consistent repetition of a letter or a number channels the meditative elements of Sufism, in this present painting the word - “Allah” is repeated to form the Arabic letter “H” is akin to transcendental twirling of the Sufi dervishes.

Working with no more than 5 colours to one painting, El Nagdi says in an interview with Anna Wallace Thompson: “its mystic; the use of black and white. Black is night. Black absorbs things and takes them into itself and hides them. White is lightness and the sun. Everything is clear and open: One takes in, one gives out.” His calligraphic period is heavily influence by tasswuf (to become a Sufi); inextricable from the Islamic idea of oneness is his use of the word Allah – the divine – presently, which is essentially the unanimous symbol of Islam.

Possibly one of the first examples of calligraphic works by El Nagdi; this rare example was his initiation into art of calligraphy and an insight into his personal exploration of Sufism.